Augmented Reality Series by The Washington Post

To enhance its reporting and storytelling in 2017, The Washington Post is using Wikitude’s augmented reality technology to innovatively present an ongoing art and architecture series that is set to release one AR experience every quarter. Read below to understand how The Post is creatively presenting news to their readers.

We think [AR will] be more widely adopted — you can really see it bubbling up — and we wanted to be at the forefront of that so by the time it takes off, we’re really good storytellers there.

Joey Marburger | Director Of Product | The Washington Post

The Washington Post, the renowned American daily newspaper, created a series divided into six installments made to explore new and truly ingenious mega constructions from around the world. The acclaimed reviews of art and architecture critic, Philip Kennicott, are complemented by augmented reality to allow users to view, explore and better understand the writer’s review.

The first story showcases Elbphilharmonie, the famous concert hall in Hamburg, Germany. Known for its high-quality acoustic panels and bold architectural structures, users can activate the camera on their phone to see an AR projection that shows how the acoustic panels were made and how they disperse sound so clearly and precisely. The experience is complemented by various narrations and other projections of the building.

The second installment revolves around the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Readers that access the story through The Washington Post Classic app can see an augmented reality presentation of how the museum was built and listen to audio narrations that guide through each step of the construction process. The AR experience helps to detail the difficulties faced during construction and demonstrate the solutions that were used to overcome them.

Considering that these types of stories are so visual, The Washington Post counted on Wikitude’s SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) feature to express their story in a much more detailed and interactive manner. This technology is used to track the user’s environment, layering rich digital content into the physical world without the need for markers. That means one could “visit” these iconic buildings from the comfort of their own home.

To learn more about the incredible Elbphilharmonie and the grand African American museum, and to not miss out on the following stories of this great AR-enhanced series, download The Washington Post Classic iPhone app today.